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backlash and crackdown crackups

Here is the latest on the growing pains of trying to make a car culture obsessed privileged class city a little more bike friendly.

First up, Brooklyn’s own lightning rod of controversy, the Prospect Park West bike lane. (Insert a thunder clap and a frightened horse squel like when mentioning Frau Blucher)

One of the biggest complaints of pedestrians around PPW’s new bike lane is the lack of viability from oncoming cyclists and the audacity for them to have to look both ways, now that there’s a two way lane.

Brooklyn Spoke’s Doug Gordon, investigated these claims and posted two videos from a pedestrians point of view using the crosswalk and trying to get across the bike lane.

As any rational person can observe, there is plenty of viability and time to see approaching bicycles making me think anyone making these accusations are not using the crosswalks and feel entitled to just pop out from any parked car. And the claim of having to look both ways when crossing a street? Isn’t this something you are taught at a very young age?

The safety risk of oncoming cyclists reminds me of this scene in Austin Powers with a steam roller…OH NO-BICYCLES ARE COMING!

Still the anger continues against bike lanes from people so out-of-touch it predates Middle Earth. Gandalf had some pretty harsh words.
*Warning, this video contains some pretty severe language. Those more offended by words then bike lanes should skip this video.

This frothing anger has lead to a group of local residents suing the city in the hopes of getting these evil fascist bike lanes removed.

Today, Streetsblog.org, has an article written by Gary Toth, a transportation engineer and the director of transportation initiatives at Project for Public Spaces. Gary looked over the lawsuit and basically claimed:“It is clear that this is a well-orchestrated smear campaign by the project opponents. By inserting false conclusions about professional transportation practice into a lawsuit, they create the illusion of professional validity, and set up the tabloids to post the conclusions as fact.”

Meanwhile, we’ve heard about a lot of ticketing of cyclists from the 78th precinct around 5th Ave. in Park Slope Brooklyn. This is part of an ongoing ticket blitz by the NYPD. Perhaps they should be more concerned about cars doing 70 m.p.h., especially when they crash into…police cars.

Meanwhile in other ridiculousness…Over 300 people came out to a public meeting held by the division of the Central Park police department on Tuesday, to express their outrage to another ticket blitz in NYC’s most well known park.

Despite the enormous turn out, the NYPD gave no indication they were going to back off from giving people tickets for failing to stop at red lights in Central Park.